You wouldn’t do it in real life. Don’t stalk by email!

My friend Rebecca Lillian wrote this to the companies she deals with. Could someone have written it to you?

Dear Lands End, LLBean, etc. etc. etc. (said with the tone of Yul Brynner as the King of Siam): If I visit your website and don’t purchase anything, I will be less, not more, inclined to visit in the future if you send me a creepy e-mail that makes me feel stalked.

Imagine that you walk into a shop, look around, and walk out. Do you want someone to race out after you, yelling “Did you forget to buy something? Come back and don’t leave till you make a purchase!” ? I didn’t think so. I know how to find you. Leave me alone.

Whether you’re a business or a nonprofit, listen to Rebecca.

What you should do on social media includes following what your supporters are saying online, getting into actual conversations with them, sending them articles of interest, and giving them something they find valuable to entice them to view your website.

What your website should do is to build the trust you’ve started to create, provide more information, give them reasons to sign up for your email list, and give people the opportunity to support you (by making a purchase or donation).

If you didn’t get to yes, by all means study your website statistics to see where people lost interest and exited. Hold focus groups. Do what you can to make yourself more attractive.

But don’t obsess over the ones who turned you down. And don’t stalk them.